Barry Abernathy and Friends (Billy Blue Records BBR 2295, 2021) is an all-star banjo showcase album from Barry Abernathy, longtime banjoist with Blue Highway and later Appalachian Road Show, recorded largely in 2016 during his recovery from neck surgery. The assembled guest cast — Doyle Lawson and Sam Bush on mandolin, Bryan Sutton on guitar, Ron Stewart and Jim VanCleve on fiddle, and Steve Gulley contributing vocals — represents a concentration of instrumental and vocal talent rarely assembled in a single studio project. The album demonstrates the banjo's range within the traditional bluegrass context, with each guest bringing a distinct musical personality to the session. Abernathy's playing, shaped by decades of work within Blue Highway's precise ensemble sound, provides a consistent through-line for a project that celebrates both the instrument and the broader community of musicians who have defined it in the modern era.
Tracklist
- 1 Birmingham Jail 2:57
- 2 Back in '29 3:45
- 3 One Leg at a Time 3:02
- 4 Fall on the Rock 4:27
- 5 You'll Never Again Be Mine 3:38
- 6 A Train Robbery 4:44
- 7 Short Life of Trouble alt version 2:21
- 8 Midnight & Lonesome 3:43
- 9 Unwanted Love alt version 2:34
- 10 They Tell Me 2:47
- 11 Lost John alt version 3:33